Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Aspherical Lens Review (Fantastic Value For The Money)

A serious review about the Rokinon/Samyang 35mm f/1.4 lens was something I was waiting for. Many things are more than ok in this lens: the Rokinon 35mm’s price ($479), the focal length, and an f/1.4 aperture. We previously featured various reviews about Canon and Sigma 35mm lenses (here, here, here). So, how does the manual aperture and manual focus Rokinon compare? Let’s first see the core specs:

• Fast f/1.4 Wide-Angle 35mm Lens
• For APS-C & Full-Frame Image Formats
• Hybrid Aspherical Lenses — Sharp Images
• Multi-Layer Coating to Reduce Flare
• Minimum Focusing Distance of 12″
• Removable Petal-Type Lens Hood

The guys over at fstoppers tested the Rokinon both for still photography and videography. Here are some excerpts from their review:

• The construction is solid metal and the paint finish is very uniformly applied and resistant to chipping and scuffing.
• Barrel distortion was basically a non-significant factor when compared to lenses like the Canon 17-40 and 16-35 II. This is an absolute blessing for photographers who do work for designers and architects, as bowed lines and a ‘fisheye’ effect are pretty much unusable as a final product
• Contrast and sharpness are absolutely superb
• Color rendition is absolutely fantastic
• slight bit of vignetting when shooting wide open

There are many test shots made with the Rokinon, so be sure to check them out.

Now to the video performance

Rokinon 35mm F1.4 EOS Mount Lens Review from Peter Donaghy on Vimeo.

Excerpts from the video part of the review:

• incredibly impressed with this lens in the low light environments
• color and contrast straight without adjustments is fantastic

The conclusion sums up the pros of this amazing lens:

-Sharp throughout all aperture ranges, even at 1.4 the sharpness is commendable
-Colors are very snappy, contrast is crisp, no noticeable color casts
-Construction of lens is phenomenally solid, also balances very well on most SLRs
-Size and texture of focus rings allows for follow focus attachments very easily for video applications (e.g. follow focus modifications)
-Fast aperture for manageable price, especially when compared to Nikon and Canon equivalents
-Beautifully smooth operation of all moving parts (aperture and focus rings)

Not bad for a lens that has a price of $479. So, here is the Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA [via fstoppers]